Time is not always on my side

Terry WilliamsonMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 4:14 pm, Saturday, August 27, 2011

The wife and I recently made a long weekend of it in Ruidoso, N.M., but we found out that when traveling with friends, things can become more than a little convoluted when dealing with time zone changes.

There were three couples on this trip, and I will forego the names in an effort to keep from being sued -- or worse. But the fact remains that we were all stunned by time zone mathematics.

It all started when we were deciding where to first meet. There was trouble right away. Two of us kept our watches on "Texas time" while the other changed dutifully to "New Mexico time." We were already an hour apart before we ever went anywhere.

Someone suggested we meet up at 2:30 p.m. Quickly, the question was asked, "Texas time or New Mexico time." We decided on Texas time. But one couple wanted to meet us later around 4:30 p.m. They were on New Mexico time. That meant we had to logically convert Texas time to New Mexico time without aid of a computer. My watch was on Texas time, but my cell phone was on New Mexico time, confusing me even more.

I never seemed to get it right, and I was either leaping an hour ahead or falling back a full hour. Soon, I couldn't remember if Texas time was falling back or leaping forward. And every time we had to make a decision with a time involved, we were also left with the decision of Texas or New Mexico time.

It got to a point where we didn't know if one couple would show up an hour early, another on time and the other an hour late. Getting together was more of a problem than we ever dreamed. But time differences seldom wreck good company, so we dealt with the time issue diplomatically. That is to say we laid on the grief to anyone who came up with the wrong answer on any time conversions.

The night before we came home, we had to decide what time to go to bed in order to get enough sleep for the trip back to Texas. We decided we would go to bed around 11 p.m. New Mexico time, but we were going to get up at 7 a.m. Texas time. My watch was on Texas time, but the digital clock on the desk by me was on New Mexico time. Every time I woke up, I didn't know if I was gaining sleep or losing sleep.

I thought we were going to gain an hour of sleep, but we actually lost an hour. That busted me right there. I was yawning the whole trip back.

It seemed like a no-brainer coming home to keep our watches on Texas time. But I made a fatal mistake. I decided to listen to the Houston Astros on our XM radio to help pass the time on the trip home. That was a mistake.

The XM channel said the game started at 2 p.m. I forgot that XM goes by Eastern Daylight Time, so I was an hour late catching the game. And for any of you who know about the Astros this year, the game is pretty much over after an hour. And true to form the Astros were down 6-0 when I tuned in at 2 p.m. Texas time.

And this came just when I was getting used to Texas time and New Mexico time. Now we were throwing in Eastern time to boot. It was enough to wipe out all my limited math skills and my patience.

We did arrive home, but I never asked the wife what time it was. The next day, she asked me if I wanted to go out to eat. I said, "Sure." She asked when? And I replied, "Texas time or New Mexico time."

Thought for the Week: Old is good in some things: old songs, old movies, and best of all, old friends -- regardless of what time it is.